6S R'ejporl on the Farrri Prize Cdmiieiitlbn 
Horses on the farm included 5 working-horses, 1 light 
iliare, 2 young nag horses, 1 yearling colt, and 1 two-year-old 
colt. In May, there were 2 good Shire-bred fillies, one by 
'* Hydrometer/' another by " Monster," eligible for the stud- 
book, a mare half-bred, and a foal by " Queen's Messenger " 
thorough-bred, a cart mare and foal Shire-bred. Mr. Bower has 
a great liking for good Shire-bred horses. 
Cattle on the farm are chiefly shorthorns. In December 
there were 41' cattle : eight of them fat bullocks of the Hereford 
breed, and a large number of young cattle, many of them good, 
but others not of large size. The general system of cattle- 
management on Woodthorpe is as follows : About ten calves 
are reared annually, partly from heifers calved on the farm. To 
these are added a few bought fi'om neighbours, who keep one or 
two cows and make butter. The calves are suckled by their 
dams till four months old, when they are weaned and other calves 
take their places. Eighteen steers are annually fed off". Four- 
teen cows or heifers are grazed, getting an allowance of cotton- or 
linseed-cake, and are sold off from J une till October as they get 
fattened. 
Sheep are chiefly Lincolns, but half the ewes are crossed 
with Hampshire or Oxford Down rams. In December 1887 
there were 129, consisting of 59 ewes in lamb, to commence 
lambing on March 20, 55 feeding tegs, 13 shearlings, and 2 
rams. Mr. Bower kept 73 ram lambs for feeding, as he con- 
siders that in that state they grow bigger and put on more flesh. 
The cost of labour in 1887 was 223Z. 4s. \ \d. The ordinary 
wages in the district are, for a horseman or shepherd 20s., and 
for common labourers 15s. per week. Mr. Bower's foreman has 
a house free of rent, a cow, and a supply of potatoes, with 12s. a 
week in cash. The shepherd has a house, with 15s. weekly, but 
his wage is supplemented by extra payments. Both foreman 
and shepherd are subject to a month's notice. Two young men, 
engaged by the year, are boarded with the foreman at the rate 
of 10s. weekly, paid by the master. The work is done by these 
four men and a boy, with such occasional help as may be 
required. 
On Woodthorpe the profit and loss cannot be precisely 
ascertained, as Mr. Bower farms the holding at Oxcroft (260 
acres in extent), for which he pays 260L a year in conjunction 
with Woodthorpe. So far as could be ascertained, the value of 
stock sold would amount to nearly 1,200L a year. 
The farm presented a fairly good appearance, and seemed to 
be well managed. The land is not of high quality. A little 
conch-ep'ass was visible, and the hedges might have been kept in 
